


Riding in Cars With Boys

by FayeHunter



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, just two guys being soft and in love, there's cake in the background for like a hot second, truly this fic got away from me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:53:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24890365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FayeHunter/pseuds/FayeHunter
Summary: Michael doesn't think he's been more in love with Ashton than right now, driving to a beach in LA with himFor an intimacy prompt, #90 going for a ride together with Mashton
Relationships: Michael Clifford/Ashton Irwin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	Riding in Cars With Boys

**Author's Note:**

  * For [expectopatronuz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/expectopatronuz/gifts).



> So I haven't written fanfic in about 10 years. Then I found [Maggie](https://calumsclifford.tumblr.com/) and everyone in the 5sos fandom and I've been having a wonderful. This was suppose to be a short dabble about Michael and Ashton driving in a car but then they both got away from me so. Here's this (it was 5 pages in my google docs). Enjoy!

Michael’s been playing Kingdom Hearts for the last 12 hours when his phone rings. He ignores it because he’s almost completed the level he’s on and he’s determined to at least finish the Toy Story planet before he takes a break. His phone stops and then rings a second, third, fourth time. On the fifth time, Michael coincides that whoever it is probably won’t stop anytime soon and with a heavy sign he pauses the game to grab his phone. He figures it has to be Luke, the only person who would possibly pester Michael that aggressively, probably because Calum left him alone for longer than 5 minutes and Luke got bored.

“What?” Michael answers with a heavy sign, grabbing his game controller figuring he can probably multi-task listening to Luke babble about whatever’s grabbed his interest and finish his game.

“Well that’s no way to talk to your boyfriend,” Ashton’s voice trickles through the speaker, echo-y and far away. Michael can hear the crackling of wind through the speaker.

“To be fair I thought you were Luke,” Michael saves his game knowing that whatever it is Ashton’s calling about, Michael wants to focus his attention on his boyfriend. In the dim light of his room illuminated by the light of his monitor, Michael can admit that he misses Ashton. They’ve been finishing up the recording for the new 5sos album and while he’s been spending every waking moment with Ashton, he hasn’t been spending time with Ashton.

“You know for that moment I should turn the car around,” Ashton laughs, the sound warming Michael and making him smile.

“Where are you?” 

“About 10 minutes away.”

“Ashton it’s,” Michael glances at the clock, “9pm at night.”

“I know but I. Miss you. I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Michael rolls his eyes but stands up, going over to his closet and rummaging around for a jacket to wear. He knows that once Ashton’s set his mind to something he won’t be dissuaded, even if it’s far too late at night to do anything. 

“You saw me yesterday at the studio,” Michael teases fondly, yanking a sweatshirt off the hanger and setting his phone to speaker as he pulls it on. 

“Yeah but that was as a band mate. I haven’t seen you as a boyfriend in ages with how busy we’ve been. I figured we could go for a ride together, like we used to. Maybe by the beach? It’s a beautiful night.” Ashton sounds unsure across the line. Michael feels his heart warm. Late night drives are something he and Ashton used to do frequently on break, when they’d had free time to go out on dates. They haven’t been able to do anything like this since coming off of the World War Joy tour and it’s sweet of Ashton to remember their favorite date night activity.

“You’re lucky I’m nocturnal babe.” Michael grabs a pair of sneakers sliding them on. He checks his hair in the mirror, pulling a beanie down over his blonde hair. He slides his wallet and keys into his pocket, rubbing Moose’s head as he goes. She looks up from her spot on the bed, but seeing that it’s only Michael curls back up, unbothered by the disturbance. “I’ll wait outside for you.”

“See in you a bit darling.” The line goes dead and Michael exits his house, locking the door behind him and flopping down onto his steps to wait for Ashton. He’s scrolling those the band’s group chat, rolling his eyes at the memes Cal and Luke have been sending back and forth when he sees the headlights of Ashton’s car come into view. He jumps up and darts towards the car, pulling the door open before Ashton fully comes to a stop, and throws himself into the passenger seat.

Ashton’s grinning, leaning across the center console to steal a kiss from Michael. His eyes shine in the light and he kisses Michael quickly on the lips before putting the car back into drive and pulling back out onto the street.

They drive in silence on the way to the boardwalk they’ve come to think of as theirs. The radio’s playing some kind of classic rock song quietly in the background, clearly an afterthought to the drive. Michael grabs Ashton’s hand, intertwining their fingers and pulling Ashton’s hand into his lap. Michael steals a quick glance over to Ashton. He’s glowing in the light of the moon, red hair falling in soft curls around his face. Michael’s missed Ashton like this, soft and uninhibited, looking young like the teenagers they never got the chance to really be. He’s smiling softly, the dimple in his cheek standing out in the glow of the moonlight. 

Michael’s heart aches just looking at Ashton. He’s been in love with this boy for almost 10 years and even if they’ve only been together for the last 5 years, Michael feels as if he’s always loved Ashton, as if he’ll never stop loving him. Michael’s watched Ashton grow so much over the years and every day he’s left in awe that Ashton would choose him over everyone else to love. That Ashton continues to love him through it all. 

“What are you thinking about?” Michael’s startled out of his head, blushing when he realizes he’s been staring intently at the side of Ashton’s face for the last few minutes, rubbing his thumb over the back of Ashton’s hand. 

“What?”

“You look very pensive. What’s grabbed your attention?”

“Nothing I’m just…” Michael glances out the front window, looking up at the moon. If he doesn’t stop now he’ll do something silly, like propose to Ashton. He feels it in his chest, love bubbling over and he’s not sure he can stop himself from saying it aloud. “I’m just thinking about the arrangement we recorded today.”

Ashton glances at Michael out of the corner of his eye. He looks like he wants to say something, like he knows Michael’s lying but he seems to think better of it. He tugs his hand back, maneuvering the car into a space to park and Michael hadn’t realized they’d reach the boardwalk, so wrapped in his own thoughts he missed the smell of salt water and the sound of waves. The boardwalks always made him feel homesick for Australia. He’s always been adamant that he wanted to get out, that he’d felt stifled in their small town, needed to explore the world but it’s times like this, in the late night hours, that he misses home, misses his parents.

Ashton shuts the car off, reaching into the backseat to grab the towel he always keeps back there. He gets out of the car, coming around the front to open Michael’s door and hold his hand out. Michael interlocks their fingers around, allowing himself to be pulled out of the car and down to the sand. Ashton spreads the blanket out and they collapse onto it. Ashton pulls Michael into his lap, wrapping his arms around Michael’s waist and resting his head onto Michael’s shoulder.

They sit like that for a few moments, breathing in sync, Ashton’s chest pressed to Michael’s back. Michael’s been rubbing his thumbs over the back of Ashton’s hand where they’re resting in his lap and Michael thinks he could cry from how soft and loved he feels, here on a beach in LA under the moonlight, the waves crashing in front of him and the love of his life holding onto him.

“Hey Michael?”

“Yeah.”

“Will you marry me?”

Michael stops breathing. He literally feels his heart stop and his breath stutter. “What,” He breathes out quieter this time. He’s worried if he answers the question, speaks the words he’ll ruin this moment, this one perfect beautiful moment.

“I don’t have a ring. I literally was not prepared to do this but. I love you. I love you so much I can’t find the words for it and I want to marry you. I want to tell the whole world that you’re mine and that we’re together. I want to buy a house with you and have your dogs’ hair on all my clothing and wake up next to you in the morning with the sunshine streaming in through the window lighting you up, cold because you stole all the blankets like you always do. I want to drink the terrible tea that you make and make sure you actually eat your vegetables and watch you get stupidly worked up over your video games. I want to be able to kiss you first thing in the morning and I want you to be the last person I see before I go to sleep. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. So Michael Gordon Clifford, will you do me the greatest honor and marry me?” Ashton rushes the words out, taking a deep breathe once he’s asked the question again.

Michael thinks he might cry. He feels the love spilling over and his heart, his words catch in his throat. He wants to say yes, he’s never been more sure of anything ever. He can’t seem to say the words, hiccuping around them as the tears spill over. He starts nodding furiously, hoping that Ashton will understand what he means.

“Michael? Have I broken you? Is this where you tell me we have to break up?” Ashton sounds uncertain and Michael can’t have that. He turns himself around in Ashton’s arms flinging his arms around Ashton’s neck, hiccuping around his answer as the tears spill out.

“Yes Ashton. God yes of course I’ll marry you. I love you so much I can’t get the words out sometimes. I want to make a home together and let you put your stupid plants everywhere and wake up in the morning when you get back from your runs and throw your sweaty body on top of me. I want to spend every night cuddling with you and Moose and Southie and watching whatever terrible show you’ve decided was worth our time. I want to make you tea every morning, even if you think it’s too weak and fill the cabinets with chips even when you complain and let you make me veggies. I want you to drag me away from my games and go on late night drives with you and stare at you in the moonlight and kiss you every moment of every day. I love you and I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. Ashton Fletcher Irwin, of course I’ll marry you.” Michael confesses, hiccuping sobs into Ashton’s neck. 

Ashton grabs his face with both hands, staring intently into Michael’s eyes. Whatever answer, whatever sincerity Ashton’s looking for, he must find. Ashton grins widely, dimple indented on his cheek, pulling Michael in and capturing his lips in a kiss, which is ruined by how much the two of them are grinning, barely able to kiss from the smiles plastered on their faces. Michael’s face is starting to hurt from the force of his grin but he can’t bring himself to care, capturing Ashton’s lips in small quick kisses, twining his fingers into Ashton’s curls. 

Michael feels happy, feels full, and he doesn’t think he’s even been happier, will ever feel happier than he does at this moment, on a beach in LA, kissing the love of his life, his fiancee here in the sand, with the moonlight shining down on them.

(Later, driving back to Michael’s house, holding hands again with smiles plastered across their faces, Ashton will tell Michael that he and Calum bet each other which of them would propose first. He’ll tell Michael that Calum’s planning to propose to Luke on Valentine’s Day and that Ashton just beat him by a month. He’ll ask Michael if he thinks Calum will be upset about having lost. Michael will say he doesn’t care what Calum thinks, as long as Calum’s lost money will pay for a nice engagement ring for Michael. 

“Hey! I deserve a ring too.” Ashton will say in mock outrage.

“You proposed to me sweetheart. According to proposal logic, I get the engagement ring and all you get is the wedding band.” Michael says smugly. Ashton will scoff, but he still leans over the center console to press a kiss to Michael’s cheek as they pull into his drive. Michael thinks he was wrong earlier. This is the happiest he’s ever been, here in this car sitting next to Ashton basking in his love.)

(Michael’s wrong. A year from then, he thinks the happiest he’s ever been is on his wedding day, facing Ashton as they proclaim their eternal love for each other, surrounded by Luke and Calum and their families, ready to build their life together.)

(Michael’s still wrong. Every morning when he wakes up next to Ashton, to his husband, he thinks “This is the happiest I’ll ever be.” But it’s fine. Michael has a life-time of “the happiest he’ll ever be” to create with Ashton.)

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on [tumblr!](pixiegrl.tumblr.com)  
> Send me prompts! (Intimacy or otherwise). Im writing a Stardust Lasthon AU, a fairytale Lashton/Malum AU, and a Malum/Lashton Singin in the Rain AU (attempting), so come talk to me about that


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